1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to database search method, program, and apparatus for searching a database by specifying a search condition item(s), and particularly, relates to database search method, program, and apparatus that enable a search of plural steps with respect to a database by one search operation.
2. Description of the Related Arts
Conventionally, in search methods of a database, based on a search result according to a search condition initially specified by a user by use of a used terminal of the database, a new search condition is extracted and specified, and the search of further extracting a search condition from the extracted result is repeated, thereby obtaining necessary search results.
FIG. 1 is a conventional general search of a database; and, when a part search which is performed as, for example, part of design work or production management of a device is employed as an example, it will be as the following. Note that, the below example is specifically intended to search presence of parts serving as substitutions of a certain part (substitutional products) and the information relevant to the substitutional products. First, in step S1, a part number is input as search data and as a search condition, a search is executed in step S2, and the search result is output in step S3. For example, a substitutional product number is extracted from the search result as an item further searched as a re-search condition by the user, it is input as re-search data in step S5, re-search is executed in step S6, and the search result is output in step S7. Then, in step S8, until no re-search condition is obtained from the search result, the user repeats the process of step S4 to S7.
However, in such conventional database search methods, for example when there are substitutional products in the search results in the part search, in order to check the detailed information of the substitutional products, substitutional product numbers have to be newly subjected to data input as search conditions, wherein the operations for re-searching are repeated; therefore, the search operations have to be repeated a number of times until necessary information is obtained, and there is a problem that the operation efficiency is bad and labor hours and time are consumed. On the other hand, when the detailed information is searched by a batch search of the substitutional product numbers, the search operations are not required to be repeated; however, creation of text files of the substitutional product numbers used in the batch search takes labor hours, thereby further deteriorating the operation efficiency. Furthermore, when search operations are repeated a number of times until necessary information is obtained, the difference between the first search result and subsequent re-search results often cannot be recognized at one view, and there is a problem that it is difficult to perform the operation of determining a necessary substitutional product by comparing detailed information of substitutional products which are obtained as separate search results.